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Fast Talk: A review of Feger's Illini 100 victory
Here’s the latest edition of Fast Talk, a DirtonDirt.com feature appearing each Monday and sponsored by Out-Pace Racing Products. Staffers Michael Rigsby, Todd Turner and Joshua Joiner gather weekly for a roundtable discussion about who’s hot, who’s not and other issues regarding Dirt Late Model racing (edited for clarity and length):
Joshua Joiner: A busy weekend to open the month of April has given us plenty to talk about, but let’s start by looking back at the weekend’s highest-paying race. Jason Feger raced to a career-high $20,000 payday at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway’s Illini 100, becoming the first home-state driver to win the World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.
There were a number of tense moments for Feger with Billy Moyer breathing down his neck in traffic and Brian Birkhofer not far behind. Judging by the video, it was also quite an eventful victory celebration with Feger’s home-track fans. Seems like it was a fairly exciting night all around, wouldn’t you guys say?
Todd Turner: That's a celebration the Farmer City crowd has been waiting for since the beginning of that event.
I remember first meeting Feger when he was struggling on a low budget 10 or so years ago, and believing he could get over the hump with a little help. He's steadily improved and made strides every year, building a nice career that still has room to grow. It's nice to see him get a victory that, if he never won another race, will go down as unforgettable. Outrunning Moyer and Birkhofer makes it all the better.
Michael Rigsby: Probably one of the loudest victory lane celebrations I've heard ... maybe ever outside of Eldora. There are other guys like Shannon Babb or Kevin Weaver who are the "hometown" guys at Farmer City, but Feger really has become the defacto home-track guy that Farmer City rallies around. I think there were definitely a few points in that race where even the fans expected him to bobble or make a mistake, but he never did, which made it that much sweeter for him in the end. Like Todd said, he's come a long way.
TT: Yes, I think that's been a knock on Feger over the years: taking care of his stuff over longer-distance races. He conquered that for sure on this big night.
JJ: The weekend’s Lucas Oil Late Model Series doubleheader was cut in half with Jackson Motor Speedway’s event cancelled due to extremely wet grounds at the Byram, Miss., track. The series made its third visit to Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, Saturday with defending champion Jimmy Owens topping Scott Bloomquist and Steve Francis.
Just last week I mentioned in Fast Talk that those three drivers needed to get rolling before Don O’Neal got too far ahead in the Lucas Oil standings. They did just that at Lone Star by sweeping the top three spots and moving right back into the thick of the series standings. Is it any surprise that we’re starting to see these guys rise to the top?
TT: Not a surprise. The surprise will be if anyone else can crack that top four of O'Neal, Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist and Steve Francis, over the long haul, although the Illinois duo of Bobby Pierce and Dennis Erb Jr. appear to be the best bets for now.
Checking out the video, that was a rugged, unforgiving surface. I can't believe more drivers didn't fall out — or make mistakes — than they did. It seemed like I never saw a car go around the track the same way twice as drivers fought the bumps and tried to figure out the smoothest and fastest way around at Lone Star.
JJ: It was definitely a rough surface. I'm sure the drivers weren't too thrilled with that, but often times the tricky track surfaces make things interesting for the fans.
MR: I was actually thinking exactly that when I looked at the final rundown from the race on Saturday night. It was the "who's who" of the Lucas Oil series the past few years, and really exactly what you expect to see. Bottom-line, those guys are really good, and in the end, if anyone unseats those four at the top of the point standings I'll be shocked. The track was definitely an adventure, and I know the drivers probably hated it, but every once and awhile it's fun to watch those guys navigate surfaces like that.
TT: I was tired just watching it. It looked exhausting to have to manhandle a car around there.
JJ: Before we move on and preview the upcoming weekend’s events, were there any performances on the regional level over the past weekend that stood out to you guys?
TT: That crowd at I-80, with more than 45 entries, is a tough bunch. Chris Simpson won the first night, and Terry Phillips won the second, but you throw Chad Simpson, Kyle Berck, Will Vaught, Jesse Stovall and John Anderson in a battle on a track surface that looked perfect, and it's easy to finish seventh even if you have a good run in those co-sanctioned MLRA and Corn Belt Clash races. A top-five among that bunch is more than respectable.
JJ: Chris Madden’s Southern All Star victory at Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway was a much-needed boost for his program. He had a decent start to the season with some top-fives, but before Saturday he hadn’t won since early September. I look for him to start rolling pretty strong in the coming weeks and to be a serious contender when the Outlaws make their trek through the Southeast later this month.
MR: It looked like I-80 had a great weekend of racing (as they usually do) with the Corn Belt and MLRA co-sanctioned events out there. That place typically always delivers. That's one of those instances where co-sanction races really works ... and did this weekend.
TT: Most of the regional winners were odds-on favorites with Dale McDowell at North Georgia, Chris Madden at Tazewell and Jonathan Davenport at 311. I know Davenport's team wants to pick its spots, but I think we'd all like to see him carry this momentum into some national touring events.
That's four Super Late Model victories in as many weekends for Davenport, who failed in his bid to qualify for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.
MR: Like I said last week, this is exactly what I thought Davenport's year would be. I get so cracked up when people accuse him of "cherry-picking" ... as if going to races and making money is a bad thing ... He's one of the Top 25 drivers in the country, and is having a great year. Good for him.
JJ: Starting out the season, I thought the regional schedule Davenport has started the year with would've been perfect for him to get his feet wet with AES Racing. He's way ahead of schedule on that. I agree, it would be great to see him hit some of the bigger, national races and see if he can turn his regional success into some really big victories.
TT: I don't take anything away from his success, but after coming off a season when he struggled on a national tour, fans would like to see Davenport, at his best, taking another crack at some of those Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws races.
JJ: We’ve got another busy weekend coming up with three $20,000-to-win events highlighting the schedule. After getting washed out two weekends ago, the National Dirt Racing League will try again to kick off its five-race season with events at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway and Federated Raceway at I-55, while Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, hosts the World of Outlaws for the inaugural Buckeye 100.
The postponement forcing the NDRL events head-to-head with the Outlaws was unfortunate, but there’s still plenty of interest for all three events this weekend. What are some storylines you guys will be following between those three races?
TT: The Buckeye 100 is a name that goes way back, and I'm sure that Ohio crowd would like to step up and give the World of Outlaws some tough home-track competition with Shane McLoughlin, George Lee, Ryan Markham, Doug Drown and others.
Paducah and I-55 will likely have more of a UMP feel with the WoO drivers in action elsewehere, but even in the smaller special events at those tracks, no one falls into a victory. Should be a couple of good shows. That's going to be a long 75 laps at Paducah. Pretty sure I've never seen a race that long there, and it's going to be a test for drivers for sure.
MR: I honestly think that you'll see great fields both places. Obviously prior to the rainout, the Outlaws had a heavy contingent of cars at the NDRL races, so we won't see that. But we'll see what interlopers come back ... I think they'll be plenty of others who do.
I'm with Todd on the 75 laps at Paducah. That'll be really interesting. It'll be a test of tires and equipment. As for I-55, anyone who's never been there will see one of the best racetracks in the country. Period. It's a quarter-mile, it's fast, and has rightfully earned the name "Mini-Eldora".
